ENGLISH ON THE GO: Valentines Day in Australia

Valentines Day in Australia

jueves, febrero 10, 2011 | Posted by Chus. English.

Valentine's Day is a much-celebrated festival in Australia and its popularity is said to be increasing by the year. About 90 per cent of the people in the age group of 18-24 and 45 per cent of people above 50 are said to celebrate the day. People in Australia utilize Valentine's Day festival as an opportunity to strengthen bonds of love with family, friends, colleagues and neighbors with simple acts of love.

Valentines Day Celebrations in History
Valentine's Day Festival has a history of extravagant celebrations in Australia. It is said that during the Australian gold rush period miners became extremely rich due to the new wealth found from the Ballarat Mines. These miners ordered extravagant Valentines amounting to thousands of pounds at a time. Some of the most lavish Valentines were made of a satin cushion and were perfumed and ornately decorated with flowers and colored shells. Some were even adorned with taxidermied humming bird or bird of paradise. This valuable treasure used to be kept in a neatly decorated box.

Valentines Day Tradition in Australia
Just as in several other countries, people in Australia celebrate Valentine's Day by presenting cards and flowers to loved ones. While exchanging paper cards is a common way of greeting Valentine's Day these days more and more people are using SMS and e-mail medium to express their love for loved ones. Surveys reveal that men in Australia are more romantic and open about expressing their love as compared to Australian women. Men in Australia buy more cards than women do.

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